India News | Mumbai Rains: SDMA Advises Work from Home for Private Offices, Half-day for Non-essential Govt Offices

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 6 (ANI): The Maharashtra State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) on Monday advised private offices in Mumbai to allow employees to work from home wherever possible, while non-essential government offices will function for a half-day, in view of the prevailing weather situation.

The advisory comes as heavy to extremely heavy rainfall continues to lash parts of Maharashtra, with the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing a red alert for several districts. Earlier in the say, heavy rainfall caused flooding in low-lying areas of Raigad.

Also Read | Mumbai Rains: Ship Stranded Off Manori Beach Amid Heavy Rainfall, Video Surfaces.

Traffic movement on the Mumbai-Goa Highway was also severely affected due to the waterlogging in the area.

IMD scientist Bikram Singh said many places in Mumbai received heavy to very heavy rainfall, while isolated places and ghat regions witnessed extremely heavy rain.

Also Read | Ratnagiri Railway Station Roof Collapses Amid Heavy Rains (Watch Video).

"Many places in Mumbai have received heavy to very heavy rains, with extremely heavy rains in isolated places and over ghat regions. Pune district, Raigad and Palghar have also received extremely heavy rains. Lonavala has received the highest rainfall today at 670 mm," he told ANI.

"For the next 24 to 48 hours, we are again keeping a red warning for Raigad, ghat region of Pune district, Nashik and Palghar. The next 48 hours for these districts is crucial. Over the Konkan region, an orange alert is in place," Singh added.

Meanwhile, Central Railway on Monday informed that several train services have been diverted, short terminated, short originated and rescheduled following the landslide between Lonavala and Karjat. Passengers are requested to check the revised train timings before commencing their journey.

CPRO (Chief Public Relations Officer) of Central Railway also said that local services were halted between Kanjurmarg and Bhandup on slow line towards CSMT (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus) because of a plastic stuck on OHE (Overhead Equipment).

"The plastic is being removed by turning off OHE and services will be restored shortly," it said.Separately, CPRO of Western Railways Vineet Abhishek informed that the Palghar area received rainfall in excess of 300 mm in the last 24 hours which led to a water-logging situation in the Vasai, Nalasopara, Virar area.

"We have been seeing over the last 2-3 days that it's been raining heavily, and just in the Palghar area, in the last 24 hours, we received rainfall in excess of 300 mm. This has led to a water-logging situation in the Vasai, Nalasopara, Virar area... As a result, train services are impacted between Vasai, Nalasopara, and Virar. As far as local trains are concerned, between Churchgate and Vasai Road, our trains are running smoothly with a delay of around 20 to 25 minutes," he told ANI.

He added that, "Regarding local train services between Vasai, Nalasopara and Virar, we are running the bare minimum number of services between these stations. Regarding long-distance trains, most of the trains are getting regulated. Those trains which are coming towards Mumbai are getting regulated before Virar. Some of the trains have been short-terminated, and we are regularly informing our passengers about the status of these trains."

He further said that railways is coordinating with city authorities to ensure that the communication reaches passengers in real time through social, print, and electronic media.

"Monsoon is so heavy, particularly for the city of Mumbai, and we are ensuring that effective coordination, impactful coordination is maintained with city authorities, both the railways together, and we are ensuring that as far as our communication to our passengers is concerned. It's coordinated, and we are ensuring that the communication reaches our passengers in real time through social, print, and electronic media, and we are ensuring that our passengers do not get inconvenienced," he said.

Meanwhile, in view of prevailing weather conditions, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has also issued a safety advisory for construction sites in view of wind speeds of 70-80 kmph.

It directed developers, architects, licensed surveyors, contractors, project managers and site engineers to ensure that scaffolding, cranes, tin sheets, loose materials and other temporary structures are inspected and secured.

The civic body also directed that lifting operations and work at heights be suspended where weather conditions pose a risk, while weather conditions should be continuously monitored until normalcy returns. The BMC said safety compliance is mandatory and urged all stakeholders to strictly adhere to the advisory to ensure the safety of workers, nearby residents and the general public.

"All workers shall use prescribed PPE and fall protection. An immediate site-wide safety inspection shall be conducted and all unsafe conditions rectified without delay. The safety of workers, neighbouring residents and the general public is of paramount importance. All developers are requested to treat this advisory with utmost seriousness and ensure strict compliance with all applicable safety regulations and best construction practices," the BMC said. (ANI)

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